Vouvray, Sec, Clos de Venise, 2014

The wine formerly known as...Vouvray. A long drawn out court case has decreed that neither of Jacky's Vouvray's can be labelled as Vouvray because they are vinified in Montlouis, as a result they are temporarily labelled as Vin de France, which also precludes the use of the word Clos. Wonderfully pure acacia honey notes, the most silken texture, this comes across as less dense than the Bretonniere but also less forward - patience is required but there is such great precision and minerality on display it will surely be rewarded.

In 1988, Jacky Blot set up this Domaine attempting to drag the Montlouis appellation out of the shadows of its neighbour, Vouvray. Jacky is one of the world’s greatest exponents of the Chenin Blanc variety, his 12.5 hectares of vines are planted with nothing else. His viticultural philosophy sees him working closely with nature; fertilisation is now an extinct practice, chemical treatments are practically non-existent and pruning is radically short, keeping yields down to an average 25 hl/ha. At harvest time picking is by hand, successive tris are undertaken and a severe grape selection is carried out. The wines are then vinified in Bordeaux barriques, both new and old (depending on the particular cuvée) in cool rock-hewn cellars. In Taille aux Loups Jacky has created a domaine that clearly demonstrates the potential Chenin has for producing some of the world’s greatest, and longest lived white wines.

Jacky echews malo-lactic fermentation in all his cuvees which gives these wines a wonderfully racy, precise clear cut feel and equips them well for long ageing in bottle. Fermentation and elevage is carried out in barriques and all his cuvees receive the same oak treatment: 20% new, then equal parts one, two, three and four years old barriques.

A guide to the Jacky's cuvees:

Remus
The Domaine's 'Entry' level cuvee is actually a blend of multiple parcels from around the village, comprising vines aged between 20-100 years old. Pretty smart vine age for the first wine in a range of wines. The various plots takes in most of the different soil types found around Montlouis, alongside a few declassified barrels from the single vineyard sites. In effect this cuvee represents the snapshot of Montlouis in a given vintage and offers Blot brilliance at a great price.

Clos Mosny
A large and historically important vineyard that Jacky is bringing back to former glories. Of the 12 hectares under vine within the Clos, only half make the grade for this cuvee. The soils are made up of sandy clay and flint, with clay and limestone underneath and the vines are south-facing on a gentle incline. This is a cuvee that combines ripeness with tension and marvellous fruit.

Hauts de Husseau (formerly Remus Plus)
Renamed for the 2015 vintage, Hauts de Husseau is a single plot of 70-90 year old vines chosen for its interesting geology. It is the highest vineyard in the appellation with very thin flinty soils covering a bed of limestone. The wines are racy, precise and taut but also highly refined.

Clos de la Bretonniere, Vin de France (Vouvray)
A named vineyard of 4 Hectares on vouvray's renowned 'Premiere Cote', where the appellations finest wines come from. Owing to a dispute with the INAO, as of the 2014 vintage these wines can no longer carry the name Vouvray as they are vinified in Montlouis at Jacky's domaine. Though of course, though the label calls them Vin de France, the wine is the bottle is all Vouvray. Bretonniere is a south-east facing vineyard with a thin covering of clay above limestone.

Clos de Venise, Vin de France (Vouvray)
A top quality 1 hectare south facing vineyard again on Vouvray's renowned 'Premiere Cote'. The vines here sit in limestone with a sprinkling of clay and flint on the surface and the resulting wines are some of the appellations finest.

The most famous Chenin Blanc producing region in the Loire and home to the famous cave cellars dug into the Tuffeau banks of the Loire. The wines from Vouvray, almost exclusively Chenin Blanc, can be produced in styles ranging from the utterly dry, through demi sec, (medium-dry) to the sweet moelleux. The latter is produced by numerous passages through the vineyards, and only in exceptional years. Due to the exceptional acidities present in these wines they have an ability to age only matched, in white wines, by German Riesling.

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Tax Status Explained

IB stands for In Bond. Wines that are stored In Bond have not had UK Duty and VAT paid on them.

Most of our wines are available for purchase under bond, as fine wines often need to be laid down in order to allow them to mature. Many clients choose therefore to store them in our bonded warehouse and pay the tax as and when they wish to get the wines delivered. Please note that Wines purchased In Bond can be exported to non-EU countries without the need for Duty and VAT to be paid.

DP stands for duty paid. If you wish to get wines delivered for drinking, the duty and VAT will need to be paid as it leaves its bonded state in the warehouse. The wine is then said to be duty paid.

All taxes must be paid in order for us to be authorised to ship or deliver wine (unless the wine is bonded and being moved to another bonded warehouse or being shipped directly outside of the EU.)

EP stands for En Primeur. These wines are currently held with the Estate and Domaine’s we work with and will be shipped in due course.